Recovery of NH4^+ by corn cob produced biochars and its potential application as soil conditioner
NH4^+ ion, a main pollutant in aquatic systems, not only causes eutrophication in rivers and lakes but also contributes to fish toxicity. In this study, an eco-friendly biosorbent was prepared from the pyrolysis of corn cob, a low-cost agricultural residue. The biochars produced by pyrolysis of corn...
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Published in | Frontiers of environmental science & engineering Vol. 8; no. 6; pp. 825 - 834 |
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Main Authors | , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Heidelberg
Higher Education Press
01.12.2014
Springer Nature B.V |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | NH4^+ ion, a main pollutant in aquatic systems, not only causes eutrophication in rivers and lakes but also contributes to fish toxicity. In this study, an eco-friendly biosorbent was prepared from the pyrolysis of corn cob, a low-cost agricultural residue. The biochars produced by pyrolysis of corn cob at 400℃ and 600℃ were characterized and investigated as adsorbents for NH4+ -N from an aqueous solution. The biochars were characterized through elemental analysis, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller-N2 surface area analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Batch experiments were conducted to investigate the NH4+ adsorption process of the corn cob biochars. The Freundlich isotherm model fitted the adsorption process better than the Langmuir and Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm models. Moreover, the adsorption process was well described by a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Results of thermodynamic analysis suggested that adsorption was a nonspontaneous exothermic process. Biochars produced at 400℃ had higher adsorption capacity than those produced at 600℃ because of the presence of polar functional groups with higher acidity. The exhausted biochar can be potentially used as soil conditioner, which can provide 6.37 kg NH4+-N-t^-1 (N fertilizer per ton of biochar). |
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Bibliography: | corn cob, biochar, NH+ adsorption, isotherm model, kinetic model NH4^+ ion, a main pollutant in aquatic systems, not only causes eutrophication in rivers and lakes but also contributes to fish toxicity. In this study, an eco-friendly biosorbent was prepared from the pyrolysis of corn cob, a low-cost agricultural residue. The biochars produced by pyrolysis of corn cob at 400℃ and 600℃ were characterized and investigated as adsorbents for NH4+ -N from an aqueous solution. The biochars were characterized through elemental analysis, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller-N2 surface area analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Batch experiments were conducted to investigate the NH4+ adsorption process of the corn cob biochars. The Freundlich isotherm model fitted the adsorption process better than the Langmuir and Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm models. Moreover, the adsorption process was well described by a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Results of thermodynamic analysis suggested that adsorption was a nonspontaneous exothermic process. Biochars produced at 400℃ had higher adsorption capacity than those produced at 600℃ because of the presence of polar functional groups with higher acidity. The exhausted biochar can be potentially used as soil conditioner, which can provide 6.37 kg NH4+-N-t^-1 (N fertilizer per ton of biochar). 10-1013/X |
ISSN: | 2095-2201 2095-221X |
DOI: | 10.1007/s11783-014-0682-9 |